


From Our Family to Yours

by magnetgirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 11:50:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5625589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetgirl/pseuds/magnetgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina's holiday cards over the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. December, 2001

"How many will you need, Mayor Mills?" 

Regina smiled pleasantly at the town crier -- er, the proprietor of the print shop. "One for everyone in town," she answered. She'd given the man this assignment imagining she'd be sending invitations to balls, galas, parties for her birthday and the anniversary of her appointment as ~~Queen~~ Mayor and any holiday she felt like celebrating. And because she was in charge of the parties they'd be perfect and because she was in charge of the town everyone would _want_ to come. 

But this was only the third time she'd used the shop. The first New Year's Gala she'd thrown, the first year they'd arrived, was beautiful and wonderful and everyone had had such a magical evening. . . and then the next morning everything was exactly the same as it had been. It put her off for years. 

The second time it was her birthday and even more of a disappointment. She thought it was ten years into the curse, but it might have been twelve or even fifteen, it all blended together after a while. She wasn't aging so it didn't matter, but goody goody Mary Margaret started babbling about birthday parties to pregnant Ashley and it was incredibly irritating to listen to even knowing it would never come about. They'd caught her glaring and she couldn't explain it was because her mother twisted every birthday, holiday, and party into a social climbing event Regina nearly always failed so she'd said she was worrying about her own upcoming birthday party. Which she then had to plan to stop goody goody Mary Margaret doing it herself. 

She'd ordered the invitations, rented the hall, secured the flowers, planned the menu, bought herself a stack of gifts but the day of the party came and went and none of it mattered without someone to remember. 

Now, she had Henry, and he'd already grown so much since she'd taken the picture she'd selected for the card. Now, she looked forward to every day. 

Now, she looked forward. 


	2. December, 2009

"Why'd you pick this one?"

Regina smiled. "I love that one."

"I look dumb."

"You look handsome."

"My teeth look dumb."

" _Handsome_ ," Regina repeated, with a tap to his head for emphasis. "My handsome boy."

Henry ducked away, scrunching his nose. "Why do you always pick the same card?"

"I like it." 

"It's boring."

"It's elegant."

Henry rolled his eyes. Regina held out the offending card. "Elegant."

"It's the _same_ ," countered Henry. "It's always the same." Regina frowned. Henry took the card and flipped it over to read the greeting on the back. "Even the words are the same. And it doesn't even say anything. I bet they come like this, huh? You didn't write it. Did you?"

Regina's frown deepened. "No," she admitted. She thought what the catalogue suggested was lovely. Elegant! And she didn't know what to say. What did she know about interacting with people? 

"I knew it." Henry replaced the card in the box, hundreds of the same design she'd been using since his arrival, her regular order, just as she had at every shop in town. Only the pictures changed, and the background color to best match, and even that she didn't choose, but let the printer. That was his job! And what did she know about color?

Regina signed the invoice, thanked the printer, and picked up the box. She walked slowly over to Henry. "This year is already printed, but . . . how about next year you help me write the message?"

"And design?"

She hesitated. What harm would it do? But after all these years, change frightened her. Henry was growing so quickly. "Let's start small." 

"Okay."


	3. December, 2010

"You _said_ I could write it!"

Regina frowned. He'd written: _Have a magical holiday! Eat, drink, and be merry from the Mayor! Love, Regina and Henry_ "Why magical?"

"Why not?"

"Well. . ." She sighed and shook her head. "It's signed twice."

"Huh?"

"It says 'from the Mayor' and then 'from Regina and Henry'."

" _Love_ Regina and Henry."

She shook her head again. "That's entirely inappropriate. Ir's _all_ inappropriate." She turned to the printer. "Please pull up my regular greeting."

"Mom! You _said_." 

Regina turned to Henry. "I said we'd try something new. . ."

He glared. "You said I could help write it. What's wrong with love? And magic?"

"It's not--"

"Elegant? Appropriate?" 

"Henry --"

"I guess neither am I." He twisted away and ran out the door.

"Henry!" Regina followed, as briskly as her pencil skirt and heels allowed. "Henry!" He stopped, but didn't turn. Regina caught up and put both hands on his shoulders to pull him around to face her. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk. "Henry, I'm sorry, we can work on it together, but I have a reputation and --"

"No one would even notice."

"You think that because you are a child but adults --"

Henry's head whipped up, eyes flashing. "I think that because it's true!"

She tightened her grip on his shoulders. "Henry. Please listen --"

"I don't care."

"Ma'am?" Regina turned, the printer had followed them outside. A quick glance told her they'd attracted quite a lot of attention. "If we don't get the order completed the whole schedule will be off. . ." 

"Yes, I understand. We'll return in a moment." The printer walked back to the shop. "Henry, let's go finish the card and w'll get some ice cream, how does that sound?"

"I'm not hungry."

Regina straightened, sighing. "Young man, I meant this to be fun for us but your attitude in unacceptable. I am going to order our holiday cards, you may come and then we'll get a treat or stay right here and we'll go home so you can sit in your room and sulk. I don't care either way, it's up to you." 

Henry glared. She didn't care about him, she didn't care about anything besides her reputation. "I'm not coming."

"Fine." Regina pointed to the ground. "Stay right here. I mean it."

Henry sat down where he stood. "Where would I go?"


	4. December, 2013

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Storybrooke timeline after the first curse is broken makes no sense and I gave up trying to insert this someplace canonically. Henry is 12 and it's pre-season 4.

"I got your card."

"Hm?" Regina looked up to find Emma standing awkwardly next to the booth. She indicated the seat opposite her and Emma slid in. 

"Your Christmas card?"

"Oh." Regina smiled. "Of course."

"It's adorable." Emma smiled as Granny dropped a hot chocolate in front of her. 

"Thank you."

"He said you do them every year?"

Regina nodded. "Except last." Henry and Emma had spent last Christmas in New York with no memory of Regina or Storybrooke.

"Right." Emma sipped her drink, clearly nervous. 

"Out with it, Emma."

"What?"

"You want something." Emma blushed and Regina knew she was right. 

"Um, well." She chewed her lip. "I'd like to see them? If you, you know, if you kept them?" 

Regina hesitated. Of course she'd kept them, they were a record of her life with Henry. She kept all his school projects and progress reports and drawings and stories and hundreds of photographs. But the cards, they were special in another way. Henry called them boring because the only thing that ever changed about them was the picture of him. Regina considered them magical because the only thing that ever changed about them was the picture of him. But of course, that's why Emma wanted to see them. She waved a hand and eleven years of Mills holiday cards appeared on the table between them.

Emma's eyes travelled over the cards. Baby Henry, Toddler Henry, Henry's toothy smile, Henry with missing teeth, Henry as she remembered meeting him, Henry as she only remembered him from magically borrowed memories she treasured nonetheless. 

She placed the last one at the end of the line, completing the collection. "How come this year is the only one with both of you?" 

Regina smiled. "This year Henry designed the card."


End file.
